Testing and Inspection

To ensure your company complies with electrical legislation, it is crucial that your premises is periodically tested and inspected. This legislation is in place to keep yourself and your work colleagues safe from the risk of electrical fires or electrocution.

Electrical installations, like all infrastructure components, deteriorate and sustain damage in everyday service. Conduits, cables, seals, sockets and switches are all susceptible to impact damage and wear and tear. Wiring can be disturbed and contacts become loose due to unexpected mechanical strains.

Depending on the environment in which you work, corrosive liquids or atmospheric conditions can accelerate the deterioration of both conductors and insulators, or cause wiring to oxidize faster than normal. To minimise risks and ensure your wiring complies with all relevant regulations and obligations, amtech electrical Limited provides comprehensive Fixed Wire Testing to IEE Wiring Regulations 17th Edition.

What the regulations say:

All electrical installations should be inspected and tested regularly to comply with current legislation, and you must take proper precautions to reduce the risk of electrical failure causing injury or death. Since July 2008, IET Regulations 2008 -17th Edition, have brought testing into line with European standards.

All our testing engineers have all attained qualifications to the new standard.

In addition to meeting these regulations, you may need to test in order to comply with the requirements of landlords, insurers or, for example, licensing authorities.

How often should my premises be tested?

Under BS7671:2008, the frequency of inspections must be determined taking into account several circumstances. Our recommendations of initial frequencies are as below:

Type of installation

Routine Checks

Maximum period between inspection and testing

General Installations

Domestic

Change of Occupancy/ 10 years

Commercial

1 Year

Change of Occupancy/ 5 Years

Educational

4 Months

5 Years

Hospitals

1 Year

5 Years

Industrial

1 Year

3 Years

Offices

1 Year

5 Years

Residential accomodation

Change of Occupancy/ 1Year

5 Years

Buildings Open to the Public

Cinemas

1 Year

1 to 3 Years

Church Installations

1 Year

5 Years

Leisure Complexes (excluding Swimming pools)

1 Year

3 Years

Restaurants and hotels

1 Year

5 Years

Public Houses

1 Year

5 Years

Village Halls/ Community Centres

1 Year

5 Years

Special Installations

Agricultural and Horticultural

1 Year

3 Years

Caravans

1 Year

3 Years

Caravan Parks

6 Months

1 Year

Swimming Pools

4 Months

1 Year

Petrol Filling Stations

1 Year

1 Year

Construction Sites

3 Months

3 Months

PORTABLE APPLIANCE TESTING (P.A.T)

Items of electrical equipment that can be moved easily and plugged into fixed power outlets require regular testing and inspections, at intervals between three months and one year depending on the environmental conditions. amtech electrical can carry out these tests and issue certification for your portable appliances.

If you are concerned about the safety of the supply installation in your workplace and need professional advice, or would like a quotation for contract testing and certification of your installation please contact us.